Dozens Of People Died As A Result Of Israeli Attacks On The Northern Gaza Strip Of Palestine

JAKARTA - Dozens of people died when the Israeli military (IDF) bombed at least five overcrowded houses in northern Gaza, Palestine on Thursday morning with many casualties, health officials said, as the IDF deepened attacks along the northern edge of the region.

Rescue operations are ongoing as many people are still missing or trapped under the rubble, medics said.

Hamas media said the death toll reached 57 but there was no official figure from Gaza's health ministry.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment but has repeatedly accused Hamas media of exaggerated the number of victims.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gaza health officials said Israeli military attacks across the enclave killed at least 48 people.

Gaza's medics said the incident included attacks on houses and schools housing displaced people in central Gaza, bombing a hospital in northern Gaza and airstrikes in areas designated as al-Mawasi and Rafah humanitarian areas in southern Gaza.

Palestinian officials and the United Nations said no place in the enclave was safe.

Meanwhile, Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, one of three medical facilities that are barely operating in the north under siege, said the hospital was "bombed in all of its departments without warning, as we tried to rescue injured people in intensive care units" on Tuesday.

"After the arrest of 45 members of the medical and surgical staff and refusal to enter the replacement team, we are now losing injured patients every day who could have survived if resources were available," he told Reuters via text message.

"Unfortunately, food and water are not allowed in, and not even a single ambulance is allowed into the northern region," he said.

There were 85 people injured, including children and women, in hospital, six of whom were in the ICU. Seventeen children came with signs of malnutrition due to food shortages. A man died of dehydration a day ago, Abu Safiya added.

Israeli operations in Gaza have focused for weeks on the northern edge of the region, where the military surrounded three major cities and ordered residents to flee.

Residents in the three cities - Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun - said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.

Palestinians say Israel seems determined to permanently vacate the region to create a buffer zone along the northern edge of Gaza, Israel denies.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has lasted about 13 months. Gaza's health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the death toll of Palestine since the latest conflict broke out in October last year had reached 43,972 people and injured 104,008 others. The majority of victims were children and women, quoted from WAFA.

The Israeli military campaign was carried out after Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched an attack on the south of Israel, killing 1,200 people and holding more than 250 people hostage on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli calculations.